Demian Bichir will star in the Mexican film Hidalgo-Moliere, which centers on the father of the Mexican independence movement.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor also is in talks for a starring role in an untitled drama about South Florida gang leader Leona Sanchez.

Antonio Serrano is directing Hidalgo-Moliere, which focuses on Hidalgo's early years in the theater and his rise to leading the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s. Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre) co-stars.

The film begins shooting today in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

The Sanchez project, which carries a working title of Lady Scarface is being directed by Ernest Dickerson from a screenplay by Tony Puryear and Susannah Grant. It tells the story of a young Colombian woman who rises to power as the leader of a South Florida gang, Los Curramberos.

Bichir is in talks to play Pedro, the gang leader who takes Leona as his girlfriend without realizing the scope of her ambition.

Principal photography is scheduled for early next year in Alicante, Spain.